BENGALURU: At the start of each La Liga season, Real Madrid and Barcelona have always been hailed as favourites. It makes complete sense with the Los Blancos being the most successful club, winning it 34 times while their rivals having clinched it 26 times. If we look at the last 16 seasons, only Atletico Madrid, in 2013-14 season, has been able to break their dominance.
Two teams dominating for such a long time is not a good sign for the league, which is considered to be one of the best in the world. However, things have looked a bit different this season with Atletico three points at the top with a game in hand over Real and Barcelona.
"Five years ago or something, at this point in the championship, I think Real Madrid, Barcelona would have been 20-25 ahead of Atletico, Sevilla etc. I really don't think that was a good thing. It is much more competitive and interesting as to how it is now," said Sevilla sporting director Monchi in virtual interaction. "I don't know if Sevilla will win the La Liga in the future, but for me, that would be a dream come true."
This is one of those seasons, where his dream is not too far-fetched. Sevilla can climb to third place if they manage to beat Barcelona on Saturday. And that would make matters really interesting. This is one of those big games, which is going to test them on different levels against a team, which includes Lionel Messi.
However, they have been impressive this league campaign, winning 15 of the 23 matches so far. It is not only their form, but Sevilla are playing at Estadio Ramón, their home, but Monchi is not counting too much on it considering the empty stands.
"Before the pandemic, it was an advantage. But now playing at home without any public in the stands, it is a lesser advantage. It is a shame, but this is one of the negative consequences of the pandemic," said Monchi, who is aware of the threat Messi and others can bring to the table.
Besides La Liga, Sevilla are also in contention for the Champions League quarterfinal slot. They might have lost their first leg round of 16 clash to Borussia Dortmund 2-3, but they will look for a turnaround in the next leg.
Will Messi leave Barcelona?
With the season coming to an end in the next couple of months, it remains to be seen if the league icon Messi will depart Barcelona at the end of the season. Monchi believes he will stay.
"The real strong card of the Spanish league are the clubs. Is Messi going to stay? Well, I am not 100 per cent sure. But in my personal opinion, I think they will come into some sort of an agreement and he will stay at Barcelona. But, the Spanish league can continue to survive despite the players because the league is very good."